


The Gospel According to Isaac (Additions by Eve)

by Amazing_E_ko



Category: The Binding of Isaac (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-05 14:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5378006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amazing_E_ko/pseuds/Amazing_E_ko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lo, these are the mysteries of the Underworld, recounted here as they were written.</p><p>(Lo this is the nonsense and bullshit I have to put up with on a daily basis.)<br/>((Eve stop.))<br/>(No.)</p><p>Or: Some apocryphal texts about the nature of Isaac's world, with commentary by Isaac and Eve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gospel According to Isaac (Additions by Eve)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HannaM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannaM/gifts).



> This is a Binding of Isaac fanfic. So just in case you stumbled on this by accident, I warn you. There's a lot of religious imagery here, some mention of child abuse, some mention of violence, a lot of discussions of death. It's remarkably sacrilegious for such a short story. Just about the only thing I didn't include was the poop.

**The Mysteries of the Underworld**

 

_1\. Nine are the mysteries of the Underworld, and Twelve are the chosen warriors. Three is the number of power and three are the choices before them. Three is the number of hearts a child has in innocence, and three the number of coins of the betrayer._

 

God this is tedious.

Eve! You’re not supposed to talk.

But it’s boring! I know all this crap already. Three and three and three and nine and twelve. And seven and six and eight and ten. Every number is magic in the end, and none of them mean a thing.

I wish you wouldn’t take the Lord’s name in vain.

Really? Really? You know who I am and you tell me not to curse God?

 

_2\. The first Warrior is Innocence. Innocence is possibility, the turning of a dice and change. Innocence is there to be lost and not regained. The One who Changes is born from potential, and ever is mutable. Though his skin cracks and twists, though his tears spill unceasing from eyes without lids, he always begins anew, unsullied._

 

Hey, Eve…

What?

Does it hurt?

Does what hurt?

Does it hurt when you change?

What a stupid question. Hasn’t it happened to you too, in some of those twisted paths? You’ve sold your soul for my power so many times over. Given up a heart for it, left it pulsing at the Devil’s foot so that you could feel dangerous.

I don’t know. I don’t remember. I only have echoes.

Of course it hurts. How can you be strong if you don’t know what pain is? Samson would tell you that too. He understands me best.

Doesn’t it scare you? Each time you start out, knowing you’re going to hurt for it? Knowing you’re going to bleed for it?

No. How can you live if you don’t feel pain?

 

_3\. The first Mystery of the Underworld is this: death is inevitable. You have already died a thousand times. The poison is in your veins. Nothing can save you, not even victory. All other Mysteries are subordinate to this. Love your death. Drink it down. It is the only thing you have._

 

Do you have a dream?

Do you?

I asked first.

And I asked second. Besides, the question doesn’t even make sense. How can I have a dream? I am one. Half a dream and half a shadow, half a wish and half a curse.

That doesn’t mean you can’t have dreams of your own.

I dream of woods. I dream of the sky. I dream of a little house by a black stream, and a bubbling pot. I dream of a flock of black birds, who put berries in my mouth in the morning and grain in my mouth in the evening. I dream of little magics.

It’s bad to want magic.

Of course it is. Isn’t that what I am?

 

_4\. The second Warrior is Love. She has more heart than anyone else, and it overflows with compassion. Her gift is healing and her strength endurance. She brings the possibility of protection, and of holy redemption._

 

Is there a world where Mom forgives me?

No.

Eve, don’t be mean.

You forget yourself. I am the one who is cruel. I am the one who gets revenge. I am the one who survives. I can only answer as my nature dictates.

That was why I asked you. Because if you could say it, it would have to be true.

Isaac, speak to Maggie if you want comfort. You made her for it, gave her breath so she could love you. She even looks like Mom. Don’t ask me to be that for you.

Haven’t you ever been that? There’s the possibility there, even for you. We can all change.

Maybe you do need to pay more attention. Sure, we change. We can be anything, for a moment. But we always become ourselves again. This journey isn’t a straight path, it’s a mobius strip. It’s an ouroboros.

__  
  


_5\. The second Mystery of the Underworld is this: chance rules all. Patterns are laid out for you, but you fumble amongst them blindly. There are ways to see and understand the roll of each dice, to predict each outcome, but in the moment you must trust your luck._

What’s the best you’ve ever been?

The best I’ve ever been is a terrible thing. You know that.

But I’m curious…

Of course you are. The best I am is when I’m at my worst. When I burn all my hearts away, and live on ashes and embers. When my weeping is of blood and fire, and the world crumbles before me. When I embrace hell, and my skin is charred and burnt and poisonous. At my best I am a monster.

At my best I hold a knife and kill my Mom’s heart.

And you hate it. Of course you do. But really, Isaac, did you ever think this would have a happy ending?

 

_6\. The third Warrior is Fortune. Blessed is he with favourable odds, and the chance of success in the toss of a coin. With one eye to see for him and one hidden among mysteries. Cursed is he, cursed to witness. That was the fate laid upon him in the beginning, and as it is now so shall it ever be, in this world without end._

 

I guess he’s my son? As well as my brother and my other self. Boy what a mess you’ve made of us.

I like being Cain. I breathe easier when I’m him.

Well he doesn’t have to feel so bad about killing Mom. Since he has another one.

How do you feel, when she dies?

Satisfied. I was made for vindictiveness.

Is that all?

Isn’t it enough?

 

_7\. The third Mystery of the Underworld is this: skill matters. How well you move, how accurate you are, how cunning you are. Chance will take you part of the way but you must go further. You can turn bad odds in your favour or waste good chances. You are responsible for your own fate._

 

Have you ever killed me?

Innumerable times. You or Satan, that’s the choice.

I’ve killed me too. Over and over again. I can’t tell if it’s cathartic or a sign of how much I hate myself.

Both, most likely. The you we fight has angel wings, though. Maybe it’s the you who got to go to heaven.

Don’t say that. I’d prefer it to be a demon, even. Because if that’s the me who got to go to heaven then no version of me will ever, ever escape.

I think the rules are that we can’t know about the one who did escape. They can never intersect with us. Which is almost certainly for the best.

_8\. The fourth Warrior is Corruption. Betrayal is in his name and in his nature. He is the one who summons demons and angels equally, whose power is in deals and lies. the shadows around him multiply and darken, and the words he speaks are poison._

 

You didn’t half cut Judas a rough deal, did you?

I was following what the Bible said. And what Mom said too.

Why even create him, then? What do you get out of his existence?

I don’t know.

Oh come on! You must have had a reason.

I think, maybe… Sometimes I feel like him. After all, I betrayed Mom.

If I were you, maybe I would understand that. If I could be him, maybe I would understand that. Shame there’s no re-integration for us. We’ll never be one complete person, not really. Just a lot of fragmented dreams, twelve frustrated shadows on the wall of a cave.

There’s always hope though.

Oh, really? Which one of us represents that?

 

_9\. The fourth Mystery of the Underworld is this: things change. The world around you is in endless flux. New paths open, new doors appear. What you knew before no longer applies. What you thought was certain disappears. You must change yourself to change the world, and the world you change will demand more of you._

What does it feel like, when you pick up items?

That depends on the item.

Sometimes they hurt. They can hurt a whole lot, even if they help.

That’s life.

Does it feel like that for you?

Does it matter?

I think so. If all we have is this endless loop, then what’s in the loop is important. Maybe the only important thing.

You’re right. Sometimes they hurt. Sometimes they feel nice. But mostly there’s no word for how it feels. You get your guts twisted up, your body stretched and hammered into new shapes. I don’t know a word for that.

Should we make one up?

 

_10\. The fifth Warrior is Loneliness. He is shrivelled, a husk without a heart. He cannot love, he cannot forgive, he cannot grow. Power is his on demand, but it will not help him. Death is his past and his future._

What do you think the point is?

The point?

Of the loop. Why do we have to repeat this forever?

If we knew that, we wouldn’t be doing it.

I feel that way too.

I take it back, then.

Eve, you’re being mean again.

What else can I be? If all this is meaningless, if there’s no greater point to what we’re doing, then being mean is just an apt reflection of reality. And if there is a point, then the fact that I’m cruel is part of that point. My raison d’etre, so to speak.

Are you avoiding the question?

Of course. The answer scares me as much as it does you.

 

_11\. The fifth Mystery of the Underworld is this: greed is a double-edged sword. You must be greedy to survive. You must devour everything, smash the world apart and feast on its innards. But rashness will ruin you. You must learn when to say no._

Hey what’s the worst you’ve ever been?

Well sometimes I die right away. It’s not even uncommon. I just get unlucky.

Oh sure, me too. But I don’t mean that. The worst it when everything is going perfectly and then you fuck it up.

Eve!

What?

No swearing.

No avoiding the question.

The worst? I think the worst is when I die to myself. It feels just that little bit more painful.

That’s almost a sensible answer. I’m amazed.

 

_12\. The sixth Warrior is Vengeance. Hurt her and she will destroy you. Steal her heart and you make of her a demon. A bird watches over her, a dark guardian. In pain and sin she takes her delight. Her soul is already sold away._

 

Oh hey, it’s me!

Do you think it’s fair to you?

The description? Sure. You seem like you think it’s a bad thing, but I like it. Sinning is only bad if you think God has the right to punish you.

That’s what Mom believes.

You know what I think of Mom, Isaac.

I wish it didn’t bother me so much.

What I think of her?

Yeah. Because it must be what I think of her too.

Considering what she’s done to you, I think we’re allowed a little bitterness.

That’s not very Christian.

Really? I don’t think there can be forgiveness, not real proper forgiveness, if you can’t hate. You want Maggie to love her and forgive her in spite of everything? Well then you have to let me hate her too. They go hand in hand.

_13\. The sixth Mystery of the Underworld is this: choices mean more than you know. Left or right, up or down. The options given to you are a test whose answer you only find out in hindsight. And choices cannot be taken back, not unless you start again._

 

I think the world is changing.

The whole point, Isaac, is that it doesn’t change.

No, but didn’t you feel it? Something has shifted. There are new places in the Underworld. New paths and new monsters and new parts of myself I didn’t know I had.

Yeah, I noticed too.

Does that mean we might really be at an ending? A real ending?

I think that’s far too much to hope for.

 

_14\. The seventh Warrior is Endurance. Power is his aspect, and his skin flushes with the strength of his fury. Heroic are his deeds, and the devil likes him not. Courage is his byword, against the dangers of the Underworld._

 

Have you been to the new space?

The big hall with all the doors?

Yes. Did you follow it all the way down?

Of course, but I didn’t understand it. Why was I there? It felt like a place for Cain. Or Judas. Greed is not my nature.

I wonder if it is a little bit. Because I think it’s in mine. I’ve always been greedy.

You?

Yes. I wanted so many things I shouldn’t have wanted. I wanted friends. I wanted love. I wanted adventure.

Is that why you’re talking to me? Do you honestly think that I can be your friend?

You’re all I’ve got.

 

_15\. The seventh Mystery of the Underworld is this: three are the sacrifices. First is the sacrifice of blood, which grants wealth. Second is the sacrifice of wealth, which grants opportunity. Third is the sacrifice of soul, which grants power. All are dangerous. All are necessary._

Does the bird ever talk to you?

Isaac, the bird is dead.

So?

Mmm. You’ve got me there. No, he doesn’t talk. But I find him comforting. His wings are dry and stiff against my hair, but in the chill air of the caves I feel his feathers fluttering. He makes me feel at ease with the deaths that come for me.

I think I would like the bird better than the dice. It seems more friendly.

If wishes were horses we would all fly ponies and weep beams of light.

_16\. The eighth Warrior is Rebellion. In the darkness of the night he fell from grace, and in the pits of hell he was reborn. A torrent of bilious fire pours from his mouth. Condemned is he, not merely cursed. Nothing can purify him, nothing can redeem him. The light of forgiveness will never reach his eyes._

 

Do you ever feel sorry for them?

Who?

The monsters.

Don’t be ridiculous. They hurt me, I hurt them. What’s to feel sorry for?

I think I envy them. I like to imagine them in the moments before I enter the room. Maybe when I’m not there they’re peaceful. Maybe they play games, or even go on adventures.

There is no world I know that is that kind.

You aren’t kind to get things, Eve. Kindness is for its own sake.

Kindness won’t make Mom love you.

It can’t make things any worse.

 

_17\. The eighth Mystery of the Underworld is this: memory is divine. Echoes of the past determine the future. Memories can save your life. Forgetfulness can kill in the blink of an eye. Like a rock to a drowning man, it can save you or sink you._

Sometimes I think about hearts.

I thought you were proud of not needing them.

I am. That’s not what I mean. I think about the little ones, the ones you find, and how they slick and slide on the floor when you don’t have room for them.

I always feel bad. It seems like a waste, to leave them lying there.

They’re surprisingly soft. I try to think of thing to compare them to, but nothing fits.

The black ones feel like dust.

And the grey ones like cool water. But I have no name for the red ones, beating and alive.

 

_18\. The ninth Warrior is Life. Eternity is in the palm of his hand. Resurgence is his mantra. Though fortune favours him not, he remains stoic. By the hand of God he is chosen to return again. A second chance is his and his alone._

 

Sometimes it all gets a bit too deep under your skin.

What do you mean?

There are times when I blur, dissolve into union with other selves. I’ve been a cat, and an angel, and other shapes too, some I have no names for.

Oh, that. That happens to all of us. I like it. I thought Guppy was gone forever, but when I’m him I remember what it felt like to have him sit in my lap and purr, and how happy he was when I scratched his chin.

His paw is pretty useful, I’ll give you that.

Now you’re just trying to wind me up.

Not just. Never just.

_19\. The ninth Mystery of the Underworld is this: much lies hidden. Things are concealed in every corner of the world. You must ever be on the lookout for secrets if you wish to succeed. The discerning eye is as crucial as the strong arm._

 

At a certain point I just gave up.

Why?

It seemed like the right thing to do.

That’s silly. I can’t imagine you ever giving up.

But I did. I didn’t even try. I just let myself die, over and over again, hoping that if I did it enough, there would be an end. A real end.

And was there?

You know the answer to that as well as I do.

_20\. The tenth Warrior is Blessing. God’s will attends him. He is the saint of beginnings and the lord of uncertainty. A visitor from a promised land, his fate alone is not bound to sin. Trust is the nature of his path, and doubt is a friend he has long since left behind._

 

I still can’t believe you gave up.

I can’t believe you haven’t.

Have… have you ever talked to any of the others? Have you ever asked them if they felt the same?

Isaac, how long have we been here? It feels like an eternity. And nothing, nothing has ever changed.

That’s not true! You said earlier-

It wasn’t meaningful! Nothing has ever truly, really, changed. Nothing ever will. None of us believe it, not even Eden, and his head is as full of straw as it can get. Do you think we’re not all strangled by our own despair?

You keep going, though. Why?

Do I have a choice?

_21\. Three are the Thrones of the Underworld, and three their crowns. In abyssal black, in sunlit gold, in murky blue are their seats carved. Beyond them lies the one power, he who must be cursed. All can be forced back for a moment. None can be diminished. You will never sit upon their thrones._

 

There has to be a choice. That’s what I wanted to tell you.

Isaac, please stop. I don’t know if you’re trying to cheer me up or whatever, but I don’t need it.

I know we have to do this. That’s not what I mean. I just think there has to be a choice about how.

So we should be happy in our eternal subjugation?

I don’t think we have to be happy. I just also don’t think we have to be sad.

_22\. The eleventh Warrior is the Soul. Fragile, easily lost, easily corrupted, his path is the narrow path beset by brambles, and only with great effort will he reach the gates of heaven. He is the great equaliser, the true test of faith._

 

Well this is all charmingly Sisyphean, but I don’t really see the use. If you’re giving me the choice of my feelings, and how terribly kind it is of you to do so, then I choose to be bitter. I choose to summon all the bile in my stomach and hurl it at everything I am asked to bear.

OK.

OK?

OK. It would be pretty silly to try and control you if I want you to have a choice, right?

I guess so. But I was expecting a bit more of a protest.

I’ll leave that to one of the others. Maggie, maybe.

Don’t you dare.

_23\. The eternal truth of the Underworld is this: death has no dominion. There is no ending that cannot be surpassed. There is no finality here. Stasis is the truth of the world as much as change, and in the cold light of day all victories and defeats are made equally meaningless._

 

That used to be the end.

I know.

But even as we speak, the book is writing itself, adding more.

Eve?

Yes, Isaac?

Are you sorry you were made? Would you rather non-existence?

A bit late for that, isn’t it.

I suppose so.

Thanks for asking, though. And the answer is no. I love living.

Really?

Yeah. That’s the worst part. Even when it’s painful, even when I die, even when I change from the inside out, my skin bubbling, my flesh remoulding itself, I love being alive. I savour it. And I never want it to end.

I don’t know what to say to that.

 

_24\. The twelfth Warrior is Motherhood. Though she is silent, her children speak for her. Though she is chained, her children are free. Mother of demons, power incarnate, she is the one who makes kings bow without lifting a finger._

Were you bored of us, that you felt the need to make another?

Eve, that’s not fair! Lilith isn’t a replacement for anyone. She’s just… she’s a missing piece.

Well you make a better mother than Mom, that’s for sure.

Is that a compliment?

I dunno. It’s not exactly high praise, in any case.

Maybe not.

Isaac?

Yes?

I’ve been thinking about what you said. About our feelings being the only thing we can change.

Yes?

Hhhhh…. Look. I don’t pretend being trapped here makes me happy. But if I have to relive this little life over and over again…

What is it, Eve?

It’s just- If I have to, I’m glad I get to spend it with you.

 

  
Isaac, stop hugging me. Stop it right now.


End file.
